Lettering & Type by PA Press

Main Drag Installation, 2001 Margaret Kilgallen Photo courtesy of Barry McGee

systems & type-ologies

Systems Any lettering or type is based on a system. Like a moral code for the alphabet, typographic systems are sets of visual rules and guidelines that govern the actions and decisions involved in creating letters. These implicit systems enable characters to work together, by regulating and defining their appearance—dictating their shapes and sizes, how they fit together, and their visual spirit, as well as all other underlying tenets of the letters. Lacking a strong code, a lettering treatment or typeface rarely leads a successful life. Analyzing and defining a typographic system is a bit like playing Twenty Questions. Instead of “Animal, vegetable, or mineral?” one might ask, “Serif, sans serif, or mixed?” Are the characters all the same width, or do they vary from letter to letter? If there are serifs, what shapes do they take? Are the round characters flat sided or curved? Do the letters lock together, or are the spaces between them irregular? The more questions one asks and answers, the better one can understand or create a Matchstick Alphabet (detail) Alphabet, 2008 Lusine Sargsyan Matchsticks radiate from letter skeletons formed by the bright red match tips, creating an almost three-dimensional effect. The unusual material unites (and potentially ignites) the eccentric characters of this flammable alphabet.

typographic system. A well-established system constitutes the core of any typeface. Either consciously or unconsciously, type designers build and follow rules that direct the myriad choices involved in creating a font. If a designer elects to draw letters with very round curves, this decision affects every curved character in the alphabet. If one or two letters do not reflect the system’s curves, they appear uncomfortable and out of place within the font. Even relatively minor choices like the size of an i’s dot are telegraphed throughout the character set. Each decision that affects an alphabet’s visual code or the way that any letters relate to each other is part of the typographic system. By closely adhering to a system, a designer creates a typeface whose characters interact in a natural and consistent way.

systems & type-ologies

lettering & type

The letters of the roman alphabet have adopted many forms and styles over several millennia. These are just some of the common variants of the letter A.

A Compressed History of the Roman Alphabet As tools and symbols that exist at the nexus of art, commerce, and ideas, letters reflect the same cultural forces that inform all other aspects of society. Institutions and authorities from the Catholic Church to the Bauhaus to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have used their political and cultural clout to influence, manipulate, and establish the alphabet’s prevailing forms. Letters are not created in a vacuum, and their appearance is as subject to the whims of power and taste as any other feature of society. The roman alphabet’s history cannot be separated from the 1. Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style, version 2.5 (Point Roberts, WA: Hartley and Marks, 2002), 119. 2. Johanna Drucker, The Alphabetic Labyrinth: The Letters in History and Imagination (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1999).

history of Western civilization. The shapes of the alphabet as we recognize them today became standardized and codified in the fifteenth century. Working during a period of commercial expansion and technological innovation, Renaissance typographers took handwriting and lettering styles and systematized them into movable type, a set of elements that could be rearranged and reproduced. Type had already been in use for centuries in China,1 but the compact and efficient character set of the roman alphabet made it especially adaptable to printing. This powerful combination would spread the alphabet and literacy across the Western Hemisphere. The roman alphabet’s phonetic nature makes it ideally suited to typog-

Opposite: Lindisfarne Gospels, Saint Mark’s Gospel opening Illuminated manuscript, 710–721 Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne Insular medieval artists in the British Isles departed from the Roman forms of the alphabet, creating inventive and highly decorative letterforms such as the “INI” that dominates this incipit page. © The British Library Board. All Rights Reserved. Cotton Nero D. IV, f.95. British Library, London.

raphy. Where Chinese languages employ a logographic alphabet comprising tens of thousands of distinct characters, the roman alphabet consists of twenty-six easy-tolearn letters and their variants. Each letter corresponds to specific sounds of speech. Though not perfectly phonetic—some phonemes are conveyed through combinations like th, and many letters represent multiple sounds—the roman alphabet is a potent system for transcribing written language. The ancient Greeks, whose own writing system eventually cross-pollinated with the Romans’, referred to the alphabet as stoicheia (elements), in recognition of its powerful and fundamental nature.2 Greece adapted its written alphabet from Phoenicia’s, conforming Phoenician characters to the Greek language. This early Greek writing system filtered through the Etruscan civilization to the Romans, who refined and codified it to such a degree that the Roman alphabet influenced later evolutions of Greek. By the first century ad, the Roman uppercase was fully developed, and its forms are documented in the formal inscriptions carved on edifices throughout the Roman Empire. This ancient

lettering & type

The letters of the roman alphabet have adopted many forms and styles over several millennia. These are just some of the common variants of the letter A.

systems & type-ologies

Writing, Lettering, or Type? Writing, lettering, and type represent three distinct methods of creating letters. A written letter or word is created with very few strokes of the writing implement— think of cursive handwriting or a hastily scrawled note. Lettering builds the form of each character from multiple, often numerous, strokes or actions—a love note meticulously carved into a tree trunk or a hand-drawn letterform in graffiti, for instance. Type is a palette of ready-made shapes, enabling the reproduction of similar- or identical-looking letters through a single action—like summoning digital characters from a keyboard or pressing a rubber stamp on a sheet of paper. Writing emphasizes quick communication and execution above appearance. Until the development of typography and, crucially, the spread of digital correspondence, handwriting’s relative speed and ease made it the most reasonable method for written communication. Imagine how long it would take to carefully draw each letter of a grocery list, and the advantages of a legible and efficient writing system become clear. This is not to suggest that writing is unconcerned with the aesthetics of letters. On the contrary, many handwriting methods and primers throughout the centuries have espoused the handwriting styles that their authors considered most beautiful or legible. The ability to write well, in terms of aesthetics as well as articulateness, was regarded as an integral part of literacy and education. Lettered characters are constructed through multiple actions and may involve several tools or processes. A digitally drawn logo, a neon sign, and a chiseled inscription on a church doorway are all examples of lettering. Like writing, lettering is a one-of-a-kind creation, designed for a specific application. Even master letterers cannot duplicate exactly the same form from one instance to another—variations inevitably occur. Lettering differs from handwriting in that its main focus is usually on technique and visual appearance. While speed may be important, it is generally This faded, hand-lettered sign reveals the multiple brushstrokes used to build each character. Although it lacks the defining characteristics of type, careful lettering can mimic typography.

less so than the end product. More than it does in writing and type, context influences the way lettering looks. The uniqueness of each lettering treatment allows its designer flexibility and creativity to respond to a given context in very specific ways. Letters can be compressed, warped, or interlocked to fit a particular space. Words can be built from the most appropriate medium or material, from pencil to stainless steel to chocolate syrup.

systems & type-ologies

lettering & type

systems & type-ologies

Lettered or written characters that can be reproduced and rearranged become type. Type unites the detail and formality of lettering with the speed and ease of handwriting. The ability to create and reproduce preexisting characters through a single action differentiates type from writing and lettering. Reproduction methods writing

have varied and evolved over the centuries. Metal and wood typefaces, rub-down transfer letters, typewriters, rubber stamps, stencils, photo lettering, and digital fonts are all examples of type. Type’s strength and beauty lie in its ability to look the same in any context. One can type an A thousands of times and achieve a consistent result, yet writing or lettering the same character will produce variations. Type also

lettering

constitutes a system of powerful relationships, which transform a palette of shapes into a true kit of parts capable of endless recombinations. Like any set of tools, type has power that is measured not just by individual elements but also by how the parts work together. Unlike lettered and written characters, each typographic glyph must be ready to redeploy into a new word formation at any time.

type Quick cursive and print hands are two common forms of writing. As characters become more painstakingly executed or constructed, they become lettering. Type occasionally mimics writing or lettering styles with its ready-made palette of shapes. Sketchbook pages Calligraphy, 2006–2007 Letman (Job Wouters) Some calligraphy blurs the line between handwriting and lettering. As letterforms grow more polished and embellished, they become more lettering-like. In some cases the artist’s intent may be the only distinction between an expertly written paragraph and a quickly lettered word. No War Monumental lettering, 2003 Verena Gerlach Designed to protest the war in Iraq, this lettering installation uses a matrix of lit windows to form letters. The words become legible as building occupants leave for the evening and switch off (or leave on) the lights in each room.

Los Feliz Typeface, 2002 Christian Schwartz with Zuzana Licko and Rudy VanderLans, Emigre. Original sign lettering by Cosmo Avila Los Feliz is based on handlettered signs on an auto parts store in Los Angeles. The final typeface retains many of the idiosyncrasies of the original lettering, but standardizes them into a more regular system. Photos by Matthew Tragesser.

Thanks to digital technologies, typography has usurped many of writing’s long-held roles. It is much faster and more practical to write letters, take notes, or chart finances by typing on a computer than by handwriting these communications. Likewise, graphic designers have replaced lettering artists with digital fonts that can quickly reproduce effects similar, though not usually equal, to custom lettering. The loss of personality and individuality found in handwriting and lettering is an unfortunate side effect of the proliferation of type. Nonetheless, an exponentially growing library of new and more sophisticated typefaces keeps increasing the range of type’s voice.

lettering & type

systems & type-ologies

lettering

Interview: Shaun Flynn The designs of musician and artist Shaun Flynn stand out on bulletin boards and record store shelves in his native Baltimore and around the country. Flynn’s posters frequently incorporate elaborate or hidden lettering, in some cases abandoning any imagery in favor of a text-only solution. You have a fine arts background. How did you get into lettering, which is often considered the realm of graphic design? I first began making posters out of necessity, for my bands in Baltimore. You’ve got a show, you need to promote it, and you want to make the poster look nice. Eventually other people began asking me to do flyers. I don’t think I would have started making posters, especially for other people, without that aspect of self-promotion of the music I was playing. What, if any, distinction do you see between making a text-based poster and creating a drawing or art installation? Both my posters and my artwork usually start with a simple material base and have a lo-fi, handmade process. With posters you have a single pen or a box of markers. I like taking a simple object or set of materials and turning it into something visually complex. I really appreciate bold simplicity, but I’m not a great “simple” designer. My work often winds up being ornate and taking a long time. It isn’t necessarily ornate for its own sake but about whether or not I think it’s worth putting the time into. Why do you take a primarily hand-drawn approach to your flyers and posters? I never had a computer or took any computer courses in college. I really eschewed the graphic arts industry when I was in school. It wasn’t something I considered having to use because, of course, I was going to be a “famous artist in New York.” It became quickly apparent after I started making posters that the hand-drawn aspect was a big part of my interest. Handmade stuff is more interesting to me; your style emerges more quickly. Your work often combines lettering and image into a single composition. Why do you approach posters in this unified way? I like integrating lettering into the imagery of the poster so that it really feels like one whole thing, not just some drawing from a sketchbook with words across the bottom. It makes an event seem more important when there’s an image that can’t be detached from the show. Sometimes I’ll focus my energy on the information, the letters rather than the image—making the letters into the image themselves. It’s pretty infinite what you can do to letters, and it’s amazing what your brain will read. Anything can be very simply turned into some kind of letterform. There’s really no reason or need to have anything else on a poster other than cool letters. If the poster is striking enough, whatever the degree of legibility, people will spend a little more time with it. OOIOO Screen-printed poster, 2007

Animal Collective Photocopied flyer, 2004

Sightings Photocopied flyer, 2005

Wzt Hearts Color photocopied flyer, 2007

Animal Collective Photocopied flyer, 2004

Sightings Photocopied flyer, 2005

Wzt Hearts Color photocopied flyer, 2007

creating letters

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Creating Text Letters and Book Type display

Reading a good book typeface is like wearing a well-broken-in shoe. The eye slips comfortably into the letters, which become an extension of the text itself. To maintain this comfortable and transparent quality, the shapes of book letters cannot stray too

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far from the conventions of legibility. Even the most contemporary and imaginative text type is part of a long visual lineage. Any letter whose form departs too far from the currently accepted shapes of the roman alphabet will be more difficult to read,

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especially at small sizes and for large bodies of text. Nonetheless, designers have managed to interpret book writing, lettering, and typography in expansive ways. Creating text type is an arcane craft that is fundamentally bound to percep-

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tions of legibility and readability. For most of alphabetic history, all letters were created at actual size. Contemporary designers enjoy the relatively recent luxury of working in large dimensions and scaling their letters at will. Although working at actual size leaves less room both for error and for delicate detailing, it provides a

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Vendetta Typeface, 1999 John Downer, Emigre Vendetta employs an unusual construction that is both calligraphic and geometric. The letters’ abundant facets and angular strokes become apparent when shown at display sizes.

Versa Drawings and typeface, 1993–2004 Peter Verheul, OurType Versa’s organic forms were originally conceived as a display alphabet, following in the footsteps of faces like Albertus and Optima. As Verheul refined the typeface, its original eccentricities became less pronounced, and the final roman exhibits the evenness and openness of text type.

Vincent Type family, 1999 Matthew Carter Commissioned as a type family for Newsweek magazine, Vincent’s six fonts are each designed for specific applications. The display faces have narrower widths and spacing, while two text weights provide slight variations in overall color. The heavier Reverse is used for setting white text knocked out of a dark background.

direct connection to the letters’ end use. Like telecommuting to a job, working large offers countless benefits, but it can also leave a designer isolated and out of touch. For type designers working digitally, or otherwise scaling lettering or handwriting, the context of end use is crucial—they must constantly keep in mind how the characters will appear in their intended environment. Letters that look great six inches high may look terrible when used at book sizes. Since all metal type is created at actual size, designers of metal type must create separate matrices for each point size of a typeface. Although this is a much more arduous task than repurposing a single font for many sizes, it allows a type designer to optimize each letter for its end use. As the font sizes grow smaller, a type designer will subtly increase the x-height, letterspacing, and width while exaggerating small details like serifs and aperture size. Contrast generally decreases at small sizes, to maintain the robustness of thin strokes. Even though these adjustments may slightly alter the character of the letterforms, they make letters more legible and readable at small sizes. Some contemporary designers and digital type foundries have revived the practice of releasing typefaces with multiple fonts for specific sizes, acknowledging that type designed for use at twelve point may not work as well at six point.

creating letters

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Creating Text Letters and Book Type display

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lettering & type

Exercise: Modular Alphabet

Above: Young Leader Live Sessions Lettering, 2004 Alex Trochut Although sinuous and decorative in appearance, the characters in this lettering treatment are assembled from a reduced set of elements.

Below: Scandinavian Sparks Typeface, 2004 HjĂ¤rta SmĂ¤rta Created for an exhibition of Swedish art and design, the characters of Scandinavian Sparks are built from symbols and motifs found in traditional Swedish handicrafts.

From modernist experiments to bitmap fonts,

elements feel most at home. Your grid can be

designers have explored the possibilities of

reductive, expansive, or somewhere in between.

creating letters from a reduced palette of shapes.

After establishing a grid and a visual approach,

The predefined forms and restrictive systems

design letters that represent the alphabetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basic

of modular letters make them a quick and

forms like H, O, M, R, A, or n, o, b, a, v. Stick to

approachable method for building letters. In spite

and refine the system as needed, until these initial

of the constraints, new and surprising letterforms

letterforms feel consistent. Gradually construct

can be built with modular elements.

more characters until you have designed

Create an alphabet using only a small set

combinations periodically to expose flaws and

a grid, where the regular and repetitive modular

inconsistencies.

Examples of student work from the Maryland Institute College of Art

Maintaining equal widths and proportions, build a modular alphabet from these three geometric shapes: a 1x1 square, a 1x2 rectangle, and a 1x1 quarter circle. Use as many or few shapes as needed. Bear in mind that smaller grids provide a more limited set of design options.

katie mclachlan

kate morgan

carlos vigil

Whimcircle Alphabet, 2004 Tore Terrasi

the entire alphabet. Test the letters in word

of basic geometric shapes. Begin by working on

Keep the shapes proportional; do not scale or distort any of the components. Do not overlap the elements or use a white shape knocked out of black forms.

eugenia wang

lettering & type

Exercise: Modular Alphabet

Above: Young Leader Live Sessions Lettering, 2004 Alex Trochut Although sinuous and decorative in appearance, the characters in this lettering treatment are assembled from a reduced set of elements.

From modernist experiments to bitmap fonts,

elements feel most at home. Your grid can be

designers have explored the possibilities of

reductive, expansive, or somewhere in between.

creating letters from a reduced palette of shapes.

After establishing a grid and a visual approach,

The predefined forms and restrictive systems

design letters that represent the alphabetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basic

of modular letters make them a quick and

forms like H, O, M, R, A, or n, o, b, a, v. Stick to

approachable method for building letters. In spite

and refine the system as needed, until these initial

of the constraints, new and surprising letterforms

letterforms feel consistent. Gradually construct

can be built with modular elements.

more characters until you have designed

Create an alphabet using only a small set

combinations periodically to expose flaws and

a grid, where the regular and repetitive modular

inconsistencies.

Examples of student work from the Maryland Institute College of Art

katie mclachlan

kate morgan

carlos vigil

Whimcircle Alphabet, 2004 Tore Terrasi

the entire alphabet. Test the letters in word

of basic geometric shapes. Begin by working on

Keep the shapes proportional; do not scale or distort any of the components. Do not overlap the elements or use a white shape knocked out of black forms.

eugenia wang

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lettering & type

making letters work To avoid appearing small next to square and diagonal characters, the round lowercase letters all have overshoots and slightly broader widths.

The lowercase o maintains more circular proportions in some typefaces, especially in geometric sans serifs and modern faces. Less common is a boxy and flat-sided o, which can reduce or even eliminate the need for overshoots.

The stroke emphasis of the o also determines the typeface’s axis. Franklin Gothic has a vertical axis. Humanist typefaces typically have oblique stress, and the axis may vary from character to character.

A c with an aperture that is too large may exhibit uneven color; however, apertures that are too small reduce legibility.

Curved strokes thin at the top and bottom and thicken at the sides.

The shape of the counter and outside curves of the o establish the rounded forms that are carried throughout the typeface’s system.

The angles of the w’s two middle strokes differ from those of the outer strokes, to keep the character from becoming too wide.

The c is narrower than the o to compensate for its added negative space.

Significant thinning and tapering of the horizontals prevent the two-story a from appearing too dark and congested.

The w is narrower than the m and is frequently asymmetrical.

The top half of the x is slightly shorter and narrower than the bottom half, to avoid top-heaviness.

On some bold fonts, ink traps may be added to relieve heaviness at the joins.

The strokes of the y taper into the join.

The lowercase x gives the illusion of being a symmetrical character. In some fonts, the a incorporates a short tail or a transitive serif that references the exit mark of the pen.

Thinning and tapering, especially noticeable on the middle strokes, maintain the w’s even color.

The strokes of many vs taper as they approach the join. Ink traps exist at the joins in some bolder typefaces.

The top of the a is slightly narrower than its bowl, to keep the letter from seeming top-heavy and unbalanced.

Significant thinning of both round and horizontal strokes keeps the e from filling in and appearing too dark.

The e’s crossbar is above the centerline of the letter.

Because of their angled strokes and joins, diagonal characters typically display increased stroke contrast and tapering.

The v’s left diagonal is thicker than its right. This difference in stroke weight is more pronounced in faces with high contrast.

The overhang of the c does not extend beyond the lower stroke.

The slightly thicker left diagonal reflects the font’s stroke emphasis. The y’s join is above the baseline.

In old style and transitional fonts, the eye of the e is typically asymmetrical and sometimes enclosed with a diagonal crossbar.

Like many twentieth-century sans serifs, Franklin Gothic’s two-story a possesses a large bowl and narrow aperture. The a in humanist fonts typically has a much shorter bowl.

The single-story version of the a, frequently found in italics and geometric sans serifs, is similar in construction to the q.

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Subtle, or occasionally prominent, offsets and stroke tapering maintain the x’s optical balance.

Stroke weight and emphasis follow the axis and pattern of the typeface’s system.

The descender of the y typically flares or ends in a terminal.